WPI investigates sexual humiliation reports

WORCESTER — Officials at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are looking into anonymous allegations of sexual assault and humiliation posted on a Facebook page called WPI Confessions.

The university has not yet been able to find the alleged victims or perpetrators, Dean of Students Philip N. Clay said in a telephone interview. He was not sure whether officials know the identity of the Facebook page administrator. The administrator did not immediately respond to a Facebook message from the Telegram & Gazette.

Three anonymous posts to the WPI Confessions Facebook site in February described instances of women having consensual sex with an unnamed fraternity member at an unnamed fraternity and then having ice, water or pudding thrown on them by fraternity brothers who entered the room. At least twice, the man they had slept with was involved, too.

"The guy I slept with said 'HAHA GOT YOU (expletive)!' and they high-fived each other while making rude comments," one post said. "That was the most humiliating, degrading moment of my life."

On March 3, WPI interim President Philip B. Ryan sent a letter to the campus community signed by him and student leaders, including the presidents of WPI's Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council, saying, "WPI in no way endorses or condones such hateful and inappropriate behaviors or comments." The letter also thanks students who encouraged the alleged victims to report the incident and seek help.

In addition, the letter asks the campus for help with the investigation. It refers students to campus police, the Student Development and Counseling Center, the Title IX coordinator and the office of the dean of students if they have information about the incident or need help.

"We fully expect to have broader discussions of these topics during the spring semester," the letter states.

Approximately 1,450, or 36 percent, of WPI's 4,012 undergraduates belong to fraternities or sororities.

Along with Clark University, the College of the Holy Cross and Assumption College, WPI is sharing an approximately $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus, Mr. Clay said. Mr. Ryan's letter to campus notes that WPI's Sexual Assault and Violence Education committee is holding two events in the spring.

College "confessions" websites and social media pages are common but are separate from the colleges themselves. There are three of them for WPI alone, and the WPI Confessions page in question is not the one with the most "likes." Similar sites exist for Clark, MCPHS University and Fitchburg State University.

The posts range from the disturbing to the humorous, such as #1067: "I think I'm falling for a robot."

The site's anonymity means that the investigation has "been very slow going," despite college officials' work with Greek system leaders, Mr. Clay said. College staffers don't regularly trawl social media sites, but they respond if they come across something or if students bring it to their attention, he said. "That's typically where we get most of our information," he said.

WPI is not the only institution struggling to follow up on anonymous online allegations. Last week, Inside Higher Ed published an article about related issues at Johns Hopkins University and Dartmouth College.